Taric, in gameplay, is a fairly straightforward character in League of Legends. He’s a tank but also a support: Pretty good if you just want to bash some stuff and heal your friends.

It’s when you start getting into his bio materials that at least one gamer, Todd Harper, feels Riot, the developer, is being at least a little too gun-shy. And he does have a point.

Harper points out that Riot is practically dropping anvils that Taric is gay. He “keeps his private life private” in his official bio, which is pretty much press-release code for “gay, but not out, so don’t ask him or her about it”, and Riot has an alternate costume for him that, well, see for yourself:

There are some points where Harper’s case feels a bit weak, like the character’s dialogue and “pain” moans sounding orgasmic. But overall, he’s got a point: The “is he or isn’t he” thing is, if nothing else, fairly insulting to the game’s fans.

First of all, yes, some people will freak out that you can play as a gay man in a video game. We call these people “Fox News talking heads”. Really, “controversies” like this have always been tempests in teapots among people who don’t play the game and literally nobody else, and we’re big boys and girls here in the gaming world.

Besides, to be honest, as big as League of Legends is, it’s not like this would be Call of Duty announcing its next game is Call of The Homosexual Agenda. Taric is one character out of 108 choices: There are plenty of others to play if somebody has to be a wuss about it.

Also, this will lead to some truly epic cosplay at Westboro Baptist Church events, and that benefits us all. So, Riot, take Taric out of the closet. He needs to be free.